What a strange question. 2006 is just a human number for the year we live in (and not all of us use it), it has nothing to do with time itself. So we have lost nothing.

To be technically correct, it is actually 2005

The Gregorian (current) and Julian (pre-dating the Gregorian) calendars are missing year 0. ie. the calendar goes 2 BC -> 1 BC -> 1 AD -> 2 AD etc. etc.
Year 0 is missing hence there is no date with 1/1/0 to 31/12/0 .

Fact is, many different cultures have different calendars to the one we commonly use (the Gregorian calendar) In fact, the vast majority of people on Earth follow calendars different to us - including the Chinese, Islamic, Jewish and Hindu calendars for which the years corresponding to 2006 are mentioned above.

How would that date fall according to plan, accurately on our own modern-day calendars? It's a wish.. but, realistically, how would we know it really is 2006 anyway? From 1 to now.

How is the process of setting down a date even made?

Complaining about numbers are we? Its 2006, get over it.

Sigh...am I going to have to explain this every day until December 2012?

The Mayan calendar does NOT end in 2012 any more than our Gregorian calendar ends on December 31st, 2006. It merely restarts, just like our calendar.
It doesn't matter. Time is measurable only by how we choose to divide it. Whether we calll it 2006 or 56001, it's still the present time no matter what. Dates and times are assigned only to help us plan and measure our lives by a common standard.
Dates in the Gregorian calendar are calculated from various astronomical factors related to Earth's orbit, tilt, and spin. Other calendars are based on the lunar cycle, or a combination of all of the above. The starting date from which we count is dictated by culture. We count 2006 in the Gregorian calendar as being 2006 anno domini, or 2006 years after the alleged birthdate of Jesus Christ. More recently, A.D. has been named C.E., or Common Era.

Really, your question is as uneducated as it is irrelevant.

This is a rediculous topic. As said many times in this post, it doesn't matter what the year is, just that we agree to run our lives based on it, which we do.

All it is is a method of dividing and containing time.

and liquid fusion, attacking arbiter for making a very valid point is... far more childish. I really don't think you thought this out too much before the OP... but that's just me.

--Marty

Everything that has a beginning has an ending.

Clearly your knowledge on the Mayan calendar is faulty at best. Quit feeding more useless facts with even more useless facts.

December 21st, 2012, marks the end of the 13th b'ak'tun in the Long Count (a b'ak'tun comprises 144,000 days, or ~395 years) of this epoch. This was considered important by the Maya, as a time of rebirth, since the Mayan glyph for "epoch" is more or less "13 b'ak'tuns"

The calendar which indicates the alleged "end of the world" is in fact the Long Count, which begins with the notation 13.0.0.0.0, where the first digit on the left indicates the b'ak'tun number, the next to the right represents the K'atun (20 K'atun to a b'ak'tun), the next is the Tun count (20 Tun to a K'atun), next is the Winal (18 Winal to a Tun), then the K'in (20 K'in to a Winal, where one k'in is one day). The b'ak'tuns progress 13, 1, 2, ... 12.

For example, today is 12.19.13.9.17 in the Long Count. As you can see, as we draw closer to Dec. 21st, 2012, the b'ak'tun will turn to 13 when the k'atun count reaches 20.

I hope that helped explain things a bit, and why it is viewed as the end of this epoch.

Bear in mind that the Mayans celebrated, and revered, many astrological occurances, not just the end of epochs. They would erect monuments or stelas to commemorate events even as small as the completion of a k'atun. The end of the epoch, and what was expected by the Maya to accompany it, is nothing more than the clash between very accurate mathematics and tribal traditions and religion.

If the Mayans were correct and they knew an anamoly would intefere with our orbit in the year 2012, we're pretty much screwed.

Thirdly, let me ask you something.. how is my topic any different than most on this forum?

Ofcourse, not everyone is a professor or scientist..

instead of lambasting me for posting a question, why not migrate to a forum where there's less of people like me?

Clearly, you are getting too damn personal. You are indeed a great waste of my time and energy. You're answers are no more relevant than the next.

Get over yourself.

Ouch, a little personal, don't you think?

Wow, I was expecting a harsh response from you because of my harsh words.

In turn, I'd like to review what I said earlier.. I may have been pretty mean, but I felt trapped and attacked. I really hate to fight. If it's any relevance, I am already a part of a forum where I fight (mostly for fun), but I really come to these other forums to escape it.

I know my questions are stupid as well, but I never anticipated so many negative answers. I should have atleast expected it, but I know to be more cautious of what I post. With a little outside work on my part, hopefully something like this doesn't happen again.

Regarding my actual topic - I really don't know a lot about the Mayan calendar myself.. but if it does end at a certain date, it will forever be an enigma of ancient history until 2012 does pass. However, the world could end at any time, but we just have to make the most of life right now.

2006 years after the birth of christ.

Couldn't have some years become lost throughout time? e.g. one of the historians overslept a few days or went for a vacation.

That has to be one of the stupidest things ever written down by a human being.

Nice personal attack there

I'm not sure that this constitutes a personal attack as it is a criticism of what was said rather than the individual.

As a general comment to all, please refrain from comments which could be seen as flamming.

I don't understand what the problem is, the date is a man made thing it has no relation to reality.

Just because we say it is 2007 instead of 2006 isn't going to affect the movement of the earth around the sun which isi the real measurment of time.

It is not the year 2006 or 2007 or 5070 or any other man made year.
We simply can not tell the exact time. So why bother.
If almost the whole world goes by 2006 for conviniance, so be it.
If we change it tomorrow for another year, fine with me.
The reson? Time has no significanse, no meaning other then conviniance and order.

That has to be one of the stupidest things ever written down by a human being.

The year 2006 is just...a number, a name. It help the christians to keep track on things. You know, not the whole world count this year as 2006. Its just a number... dont take it to seriously. If you had counted the earth after how ould it was it would hav been year billion something...